Council and democracy

Moving into a care home - what happens to my own home?

If you move into a care home permanently, the value of any property you own may be taken into account when working out how much you can afford to pay.

Adult Care Services will ignore the value of your property for the first 12 weeks of your stay in permanent residential or nursing home care.

We will also disregard its value if a dependant relative, or someone else who has given up their own home to care for you, is living there.

When the value of your property is taken into account, you have a number of options:

If you put your property up for sale, Adult Care Services will help with your care fees until the sale goes through. Your solicitor will have to give a formal undertaking to repay Adult Care Services from the proceeds of the sale. You will then be expected to pay the full cost until your capital falls below a certain level.

A Deferred Payment Agreement means that you are not forced to sell your home in your lifetime. A legal charge will be made on your property to ensure that fees paid by Adult Care Services are repaid when the property is eventually sold.

If you rent out your property, the rental income may allow you to fund your residential care without help from Adult Care Services. You should seek advice about the effect this may have on benefits you are claiming.